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Who was Leonardo da Vinci?
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You can answer that question
20 different ways, at least.
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An all-round genius, worldwide.
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00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:35,080
A man who has a long beard,
working in his lab.
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He was one of the most
relentlessly curious men who ever lived.
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The greatest artist of all time.
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Once you start knowing him,
things get much more complicated.
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00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:52,840
He's so many things
to so many people.
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I was very surprised knowing
the scientist he was,
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00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:02,920
and the philosopher
and the incredible artist of drawings.
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00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:07,560
Leonardo da Vinci
was many men in one man.
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00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:08,640
An astronomer.
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00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:11,520
Also a musician.
An architect.
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He knew everything.
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He knew how to build war machines...
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Engineer, botanist,
biologist, anatomist.
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An observer, so much.
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He was
an extraordinary polymath.
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00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:27,120
He was a chef,
he was a composer.
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He wasn't just a painter
or a designer.
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He was always
ahead of time.
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He was a genius.
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He was always in search
of the right questions
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and the good answers.
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Very clearly, he fits into
the category of genius, for me.
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A unique, unmatched complexity
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maybe still unseen
in the history of mankind.
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00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:52,880
Even in an 8-hour show
like this,
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we can only touch the surface
of what Leonardo was and did.
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He's still... is making waves
hundreds of years later,
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00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,880
and yet, he left behind
just 12 works of art.
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00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:07,080
That's extraordinary.
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00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:11,680
And then by reading the scripts
and acting in the series,
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00:02:11,840 --> 00:02:13,640
he becomes a man.
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00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:15,880
Leonardo is a real enigma.
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00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,040
He was very much
an outsider for his time.
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00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:21,640
He was an illegitimate child.
He was a gay man.
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00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,400
Even if he wasn't necessarily
struggling with his identity himself,
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00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:30,800
he was certainly struggling with
how best to present that more widely.
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00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:34,760
I don't think you'll ever fully get
the real essence of who he was,
41
00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:36,560
but that's the great thing
about him.
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00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,480
Unravelling the complexity
of this man is--
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00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:41,200
You wouldn't do it
in a lifetime.
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00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:43,400
I don't know who
Leonardo da Vinci is.
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We're finding him.
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Because he's such
a complex character,
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00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:49,720
we ask ourselves that question
every single day.
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00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:58,920
So, for Steve Thompson and I,
49
00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:02,440
what we wanted to do was capture
who Leonardo was as a man.
50
00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,880
We have the immense problem that we could
sit down and write 100 different shows.
51
00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:10,320
From the first few pages felt,
they were Frank's drafts,
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00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:13,200
I thought, there's a real person here.
This is interesting.
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I've never thought of him
like that before.
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00:03:15,400 --> 00:03:16,520
You think of Da Vinci,
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00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:17,880
you think of the guy
with the old beard,
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00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:19,320
you think of the Mona Lisa,
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00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,640
some of the great works,
but you don't think of the person.
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00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,480
To see this person
evolve and change
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00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,320
in the opening 10-20 pages
of the first script,
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00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:32,400
I'm thinking, "This is a real person."
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It's a human.
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00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,800
These scripts instantly grabbed me
when I read them
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00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:42,160
because it's a character-driven narrative.
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00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:47,120
It's so delicious to have
to deal with a story
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00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:49,040
about a character's journey,
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00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,680
in this case, to discover
who they are themselves.
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00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,560
We are telling
about the complexity of a man.
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00:03:56,680 --> 00:03:59,880
We see him as a child
abandoned by his father.
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00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:05,320
We see him young and anxious,
looking for his first job.
70
00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:12,000
We see his fears, his uncertainties.
His great visionary ability.
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00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:13,760
His shyness.
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00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,240
Leonardo is front and center
of the script.
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00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:21,400
We get to try
and understand him
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00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,880
as an outsider
from the beginning.
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00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:30,640
He's a very different representation
of masculinity on-screen
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00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:35,240
that all of us
should strive to...
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00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,880
to understand, watch,
and put out there in today's world.
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00:04:40,200 --> 00:04:43,240
This is a love story
but without a sexual love affair.
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This is a platonic love affair between
a man and a woman,
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00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:49,560
but a gay man and a...
81
00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:51,200
It's a celibate relationship.
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00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:55,280
That's a really powerful
and different narrative.
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00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:00,560
One of the challenges you face is
genius is a mystery.
84
00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,440
And you can never really explain
where it comes from.
85
00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,680
But what we've tried to do
is give you insight
86
00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,000
into what made him
a genius.
87
00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,680
What makes him really interesting
as a character is "genius."
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00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,200
It's quite a lonely place to be.
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00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,760
If you have a genius mind,
you're locked inside a genius mind,
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00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:25,960
that can make people
very lonely.
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00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:31,000
So we started to explore the human
relationships in his life, as well.
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00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:36,040
To show you how moving
his journey through life was
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00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,800
and how much he sacrificed
to achieve what he did.
94
00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:42,440
But it's more than that.
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00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:44,920
It's also a story of an artist,
96
00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:48,560
and how they are challenged
all the time
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00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,680
to achieve what it is
they're desperately trying to achieve.
98
00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:55,480
We look at the Last Supper
or the Mona Lisa
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00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,400
and we take for granted
that it's beautiful and a masterpiece.
100
00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:04,040
But, of course,
it wasn't so obvious at the time.
101
00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:07,040
So we've spent a lot of time
in this show
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00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:09,480
focusing on Leonardo
as a man,
103
00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,200
but also trying
to give the audience
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00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:15,120
an understanding of what made him
such a great artist.
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00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,600
In the eight episodes,
every one of the episodes
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00:06:17,800 --> 00:06:20,280
tells the story of
one particular piece of art
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00:06:20,760 --> 00:06:22,480
and the struggle to create it.
108
00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:26,440
Those are our two story arcs.
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00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,240
Not just to show you art
as if this were an art class
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00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:30,920
or educational television,
111
00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:33,600
but to show you
the human truth of this art
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00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,720
and why it mattered to Leonardo
and why it was a work of genius.
113
00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:39,760
When I look into your eyes,
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00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:42,000
I can see the pain
in my own.
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00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:44,360
One of the things
that makes it different
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00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:46,680
is the nature of the story.
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00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:49,640
It's a biopic.
It's not a typical costume drama.
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00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,680
This is like a blend of genres.
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00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:55,520
Frank Spotnitz, Steve Thompson
and Gabbie Asher,
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00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:57,920
when in creating this show,
have created
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00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,320
a murder mystery
at the heart of it.
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00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:03,600
It starts with
the murder of a woman.
123
00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:06,040
Leonardo is arrested
and accused of her murder.
124
00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,720
Steve and I began to imagine
who she may have really been.
125
00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:12,080
And we don't know.
126
00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:13,680
'Cause it's lost to history.
127
00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,120
It's a blank that we had to fill in.
128
00:07:16,840 --> 00:07:19,800
All of the great biographers say,
"This is what we do know
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00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:23,360
"but here are the questions
which are unanswered."
130
00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:26,800
For Frank and I, as dramatists,
that's great,
131
00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:28,680
because we can fill in the blanks.
132
00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:31,320
We can say, "Okay, this much
we know to be true,
133
00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:33,440
"but this much
is just speculation."
134
00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:35,520
And at that point,
fiction takes over,
135
00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:37,320
and we can have
some fun with it.
136
00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,040
It's a beautiful framework
to create a biopic.
137
00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,040
It's a fictional event
in a real life story.
138
00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:49,720
But by filling in
and imagining
139
00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:51,360
what their
relationship was
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00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,160
and why she was
so important to Leonardo,
141
00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:58,640
it gave us a way to tell
the emotional story of his life
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00:07:59,200 --> 00:08:01,080
that wouldn't have
existed otherwise.
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00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:03,000
Leonardo was someone
who found
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00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:06,280
his salvation in art
and his own imagination.
145
00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:08,240
He put that above
other people.
146
00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,160
Above life and love.
147
00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,840
And his journey in our series
is about
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00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:20,040
learning to put people,
life and love above art.
149
00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,360
I had no idea who was
going to play Leonardo.
150
00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:37,040
It's, obviously,
a really difficult part to play.
151
00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:41,120
So when I found out
that Aidan was available
152
00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:43,960
and interested in playing the part,
I was thrilled.
153
00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:46,960
He's a deeply sensitive...
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00:08:48,520 --> 00:08:50,680
...personality.
A deeply sensitive character.
155
00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,280
And you have to have that
in the artist.
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You have to have someone
who feels everything.
157
00:08:55,200 --> 00:08:58,640
Absolutely the perfect actor
for the role of Leonardo.
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I've never been able to think
of anybody better.
159
00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,280
To be able to convey
his intelligence
160
00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:07,360
and the enigma
of Leonardo,
161
00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:09,640
the mystery of where
his genius comes from,
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00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:11,760
that's something
not every actor can do.
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00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:16,240
We all felt really confident
that Aidan could deliver that,
164
00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:17,480
and he has.
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00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:21,720
I felt a lot of pressure
in preparing to play Leonardo.
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That's what attracted me
to the part, as well.
167
00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:26,400
Yeah, it's terrifying.
168
00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,320
For him, it's great to have
a role like this to play with
169
00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,880
and explore
and challenge himself with.
170
00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:37,800
Because Leonardo is a man
capable of rage and passion,
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00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,040
and huge empathy
and insights.
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00:09:41,560 --> 00:09:43,240
But we don't know
what he was like.
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00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:45,160
We don't have
YouTube videos of him.
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00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:47,840
We wasn't on political campaign.
We don't have any--
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We've never heard him speak,
never seen him walk.
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00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,600
So you can start to create
this person.
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00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:57,080
This human behind all that work.
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That was the exciting part, too.
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You're not mimicking
a famous person
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00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:03,040
that we're all aware of.
181
00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:05,080
With all the work and everything
we know about him,
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00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:07,440
we're starting, again.
183
00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:12,640
It must be intimidating to play
a real character from history
184
00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:14,320
that was such a genius,
185
00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:16,400
and to make him human.
186
00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:17,640
I overreached.
187
00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:22,600
Attempted to cram too many ideas
into a single work.
188
00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:25,440
Always hard to say
who my favorite characters are,
189
00:10:25,560 --> 00:10:27,360
'cause I love
all the characters.
190
00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:30,160
It's like asking somebody
to pick their favorite child.
191
00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:33,600
But I would have to say
it's Caterina.
192
00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:38,560
Caterina da Cremona is love.
193
00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,400
Like Leonardo would say,
"She's love."
194
00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:43,120
Tell me about this woman.
195
00:10:44,560 --> 00:10:46,480
Caterina da Cremona.
196
00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:48,400
You can't help but love her
197
00:10:48,560 --> 00:10:50,640
because she is so blunt.
198
00:10:51,360 --> 00:10:53,600
She's honest.
She's too honest.
199
00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:55,120
She's saying things
she should not say.
200
00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:57,760
They just come out
of her mouth, immediately.
201
00:10:57,960 --> 00:10:59,040
She's a young woman.
202
00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:02,480
She's a tough one.
203
00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:07,600
She comes from the street,
the working class.
204
00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:10,360
So she knows what's what.
205
00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:13,320
But she's also...
206
00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:17,720
a pure heart,
like a white heart.
207
00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:18,840
A pure soul.
208
00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:20,400
It is wonderful.
209
00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:25,000
The relationship that
she has with Leonardo,
210
00:11:25,240 --> 00:11:28,200
that is obviously the love story
at the center of this show,
211
00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:32,360
is really interesting because,
ultimately, it's a platonic one.
212
00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,320
It was platonic, I suppose.
213
00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,520
There's a thin line between all of that.
214
00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,920
It was a real representation
of love.
215
00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,800
As opposed to something being
platonic or romantic...
216
00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,880
It felt something of a mixture
of the two of them,
217
00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:52,680
or something more than that, even.
218
00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:55,080
She's able to push him in ways
219
00:11:55,240 --> 00:11:57,440
that he's not
able to do himself.
220
00:11:57,560 --> 00:11:59,160
He doesn't have
the confidence.
221
00:11:59,880 --> 00:12:04,200
Also, he's able to see
things in her that she didn't see.
222
00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,800
It was something more
than just a friendship.
223
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:08,400
Which was interesting to play.
224
00:12:08,520 --> 00:12:11,640
They become brother and sister,
225
00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,560
husband and wife,
best friend.
226
00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:17,400
We don't know.
They have this great bond.
227
00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,280
This great connection
that can't be enchained.
228
00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:23,200
They belong to each other.
229
00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:28,240
All my life I've felt like nothing.
230
00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:31,160
Until now.
231
00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:35,440
Until you.
232
00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:37,200
I don't think that...
233
00:12:38,520 --> 00:12:41,080
those sorts of love stories
are necessarily told...
234
00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:45,600
in quite the same way that
we've managed to do on this show.
235
00:12:45,680 --> 00:12:47,800
I'm really proud
and excited about that.
236
00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:56,400
She's like a key
that opens him up
237
00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:02,640
and begins to allow him
to show his art to Verrocchio.
238
00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:05,920
To be recognized as
the most talented apprentice
239
00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:07,240
in the studio.
240
00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:12,440
Verrocchio and Leonardo
are of a similar nature.
241
00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:18,400
Because, firstly,
Verrocchio was a sculptor too.
242
00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:19,680
Then he became a painter.
243
00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:23,000
Then he was also an architect.
244
00:13:23,120 --> 00:13:26,040
Verrocchio was somebody that
Leonardo greatly admired.
245
00:13:26,160 --> 00:13:29,480
Very famous maestro/teacher
in Florence.
246
00:13:30,840 --> 00:13:33,400
Somebody that Leonardo
really looked up to.
247
00:13:33,560 --> 00:13:38,680
The relationship
between Leonardo and Verrocchio
248
00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:41,200
is the kind of relationship
where they both look for perfection,
249
00:13:41,280 --> 00:13:42,480
a divine perfection though.
250
00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:45,600
You can see it from their paintings.
251
00:13:45,680 --> 00:13:46,680
We had a lot of fun.
252
00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:51,440
That was very much
the master-pupil relationship.
253
00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:57,400
So the falcon
has taught the falconer.
254
00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:03,200
He's just got a big personality.
Very confident person.
255
00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:04,600
So it works.
256
00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:06,240
It was kind of, yeah,
we didn't have to...
257
00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:07,440
There was no acting required
258
00:14:07,520 --> 00:14:09,560
for the scenes with Giancarlo.
259
00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,960
In the questioning of him
about Caterina's murder,
260
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,000
we invented this character
261
00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:22,680
of Stefano Giraldi,
who's an officer of the podesta in Milan.
262
00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:25,120
He is a fictional detective.
263
00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,160
Leonardo da Vinci is on trial for murder,
264
00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:30,840
and I'm trying to find out
the truth behind what happened.
265
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,320
It was around the hottest time in Rome.
266
00:14:33,400 --> 00:14:35,480
It was 40 degrees outside,
no air-conditioning,
267
00:14:35,560 --> 00:14:37,000
and we were in this small cell.
268
00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:42,600
And we shot all of our scenes
in that week or in four days.
269
00:14:42,840 --> 00:14:46,000
I've really relished
getting to work with Aidan,
270
00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:50,720
and the two of us are often in these
confined spaces together in his cell.
271
00:14:50,800 --> 00:14:55,160
And the scenes very much
aren't about the big action set pieces,
272
00:14:55,240 --> 00:14:59,480
but more about these little minutiae
between different characters.
273
00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:03,800
If you're innocent, where's your proof?
274
00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:11,520
In some ways, the scenes between Giraldi
and Leonardo feel like a different show.
275
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:13,280
The mind games.
276
00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,360
I guess these tennis matches
between the two of us,
277
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:18,560
and I've really enjoyed
getting to play those.
278
00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:20,920
We've been looking for you.
279
00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:25,400
I go by lots of names.
280
00:15:25,600 --> 00:15:28,760
Some people call me Salai, little devil.
281
00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:32,720
The characters I enjoy
writing in my scripts
282
00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:34,760
are among my favorites.
283
00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,600
I mean, Leonardo's, of course,
great fun to write.
284
00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:41,480
I have a particular favorite as well,
which is the character of Salai.
285
00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:43,120
Salai is a street rat.
286
00:15:43,200 --> 00:15:47,000
He's a thief
and becomes the assistant, the friend,
287
00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:49,560
the apprentice of Leonardo da Vinci.
288
00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:53,080
He's a very smart character,
very devilish, very playful,
289
00:15:53,600 --> 00:15:57,920
and, of course, very,
very loyal to his maestro.
290
00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,920
Most people, when they meet Leonardo,
are very respectful
291
00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:05,200
and treat him with a sort of remoteness.
292
00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,120
Salai doesn't.
Salai is a thief, a street rat,
293
00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:11,480
and has absolutely
no sense of respect for him.
294
00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:16,560
And when they talk, there's a really
sharp, spicy kind of banter between them.
295
00:16:16,640 --> 00:16:17,920
And that's really fun to write.
296
00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:19,640
What's your name?
297
00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:21,480
What would you like it to be?
298
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:27,080
Everything is just a joke to you.
299
00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:29,880
Leonardo sees a lot of himself
in this boy.
300
00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:31,880
He takes him from the streets
301
00:16:33,080 --> 00:16:37,600
and he's somebody who has been
rejected by life also
302
00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:41,160
and somebody who just needs
303
00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:43,640
love and attention and somebody to trust.
304
00:16:43,720 --> 00:16:46,400
And they find that
with each other quite early.
305
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:48,760
Even they come from different backgrounds,
306
00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:50,880
they are going to spend
their life together.
307
00:16:50,960 --> 00:16:52,920
So it's a relationship
308
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,480
based on loyalty between them.
309
00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,160
And there is a very
pure love between them.
310
00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:02,480
That's why Salai is going to be
311
00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:03,800
always there for Leonardo.
312
00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:06,640
Salai is... He was...
313
00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,040
one of the big loves of Leonardo's life.
314
00:17:10,120 --> 00:17:13,720
One fact that not a lot of people
know about Leonardo is that he was gay.
315
00:17:15,080 --> 00:17:17,640
And so, Caterina discovers this
about Leonardo,
316
00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:19,800
and he discovers it
about himself.
317
00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:24,400
And I think it's a story that feels
very modern in terms of that struggle.
318
00:17:24,920 --> 00:17:29,000
Here is a guy who encounters
all sorts of problems in his life.
319
00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:32,080
He has very difficult relationships,
problem with his sexuality,
320
00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:33,520
terrible problem with his parents.
321
00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:35,320
He had a very difficult upbringing.
322
00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,080
He wasn't brought up
by either of his parents.
323
00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:40,160
And he was really mistreated
324
00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:41,600
by members of his family.
325
00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:43,080
And he grew up
326
00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:48,280
not really believing that he was lovable,
that he was worthy of love.
327
00:17:48,800 --> 00:17:53,400
So much of Leonardo's angst
came from his family
328
00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:55,360
and how he was brought up.
329
00:17:55,440 --> 00:18:00,520
He was always quite resentful
of being rejected by his father.
330
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:02,160
I didn't ask to be born.
331
00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,240
No one asked for you to be born, Leonardo.
332
00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:06,600
You are a mistake.
333
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,920
He had several kids,
334
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,600
but he never very recognize Leonardo,
he didn't wanted him.
335
00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:17,960
He understood later, he was a vegetarian,
336
00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,880
which was particular, for the time.
Gay, certainly.
337
00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:26,640
So he was very disappointed by his son.
338
00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,640
Working with Piero, working with Robin,
339
00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,680
those scenes were...
They were always tricky.
340
00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,760
There was naturally a lot of angst
341
00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:36,680
and energy in those scenes.
342
00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,560
It's an authority relation.
343
00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,800
The father is very strong.
344
00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:44,920
He didn't play him necessarily very cold.
345
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:48,760
But just knowing and researching so much,
346
00:18:48,840 --> 00:18:50,880
and just speaking to Dan
about how much
347
00:18:50,960 --> 00:18:53,600
his relationship with his father
would have affected him, did affect him,
348
00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:54,680
always affected him,
349
00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:57,960
it just turned on something
in those scenes between us.
350
00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:01,960
But he tries to understand his son,
351
00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:04,880
but he can't very well understand him.
352
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,560
And maybe it gave Leonardo some strength.
353
00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:12,560
Of course, it destructed him
but it gave him strength.
354
00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:17,040
My favorite character,
355
00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:18,840
I would say,
356
00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:21,440
Ludovico Sforza.
357
00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:26,000
I don't know why.
Maybe because I love James D'arcy,
358
00:19:26,080 --> 00:19:29,200
and I love his Ludovico Sforza.
359
00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,800
I think the relationship
between Sforza and Caterina
360
00:19:32,880 --> 00:19:35,520
is very interesting in its complexity,
361
00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:36,840
but ultimately,
362
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,160
it felt to me like it was a power game.
363
00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:43,120
That's your choice, of course.
364
00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:47,360
Of course.
365
00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:56,320
But there really is no choice at all.
366
00:19:57,400 --> 00:19:58,560
Yeah, James is fun.
367
00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:00,520
James is a great guy.
He's one of these actors
368
00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:02,880
who, straight away, just embodied...
369
00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:04,680
He was the character, you know.
370
00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:07,680
He just felt right straight away,
and he brought a lot of humor
371
00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:10,360
to the role, too, which was brilliant.
It felt right.
372
00:20:10,880 --> 00:20:12,720
You are Leonardo?
373
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:17,160
Do you know who I am?
374
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:20,000
Yes, your grace.
375
00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:23,040
One of the exciting things
about playing a character
376
00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:27,720
who is in charge is, actually,
you don't have to do anything.
377
00:20:27,800 --> 00:20:29,400
Everybody else does it for you.
378
00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:33,400
It's a great character,
it's full of contradiction
379
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,880
and over the line all the time.
380
00:20:36,960 --> 00:20:37,960
He's crazy.
381
00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:39,600
He's the boss of the castle,
382
00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:43,200
but you never know what he's thinking.
383
00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:44,280
He can be charming,
384
00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:45,880
he can be a tyrant,
385
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,960
he can be quiet,
386
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:51,400
he can be loud,
he can be any one of those things.
387
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:55,960
But it's much more to do with
the way people react around him in court.
388
00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:01,000
A menacing guy
and scary person to have around,
389
00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:03,520
but I think he's a patron of the arts,
390
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,400
and I think for that reason alone,
391
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:07,480
it's somebody that Leonardo appreciated.
392
00:21:08,040 --> 00:21:09,280
I think he challenged him.
393
00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,560
I think he opened his imagination,
394
00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:15,640
to some extent.
395
00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:23,160
I think he did push him in ways
396
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,200
that even a genius like Leonardo da Vinci
397
00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,920
needed someone
to keep pushing him forward.
398
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:32,520
Because every artist
is plagued with self-doubt,
399
00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:34,480
and the show explores that quite a bit.
400
00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:38,880
So Sforza was the person
who was there to say to him,
401
00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:41,040
"No, it's possible. Do it."
402
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:49,840
Whenever you make a film
about a real character,
403
00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:52,400
doesn't matter if it's Mahatma Gandhi
404
00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:55,680
or Muhammad Ali or Leonardo da Vinci,
405
00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:59,920
it's terrifying that they're people
that everyone has some idea of,
406
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,480
and you're going to be judged harshly,
whatever you do.
407
00:22:04,520 --> 00:22:07,200
There's no perfect version
of this character.
408
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:09,440
There's just the version
that you can present.
409
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,560
And I think every time you represent
someone from history,
410
00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:17,400
you have a responsibility to be as
truthful as possible to their character.
411
00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:20,080
But at the same time,
you have responsibility
412
00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,960
to tell the best story
in the best possible way
413
00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:26,840
regardless of who--
the actor you cast to play that person,
414
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:28,560
or how you choose to write.
415
00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:38,560
We had to stop shooting on March 9th.
416
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,240
At break time, I mean, at lunchtime,
417
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,720
and from the afternoon
we started thinking about
418
00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:47,880
how we could reopen our film sets.
419
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:51,880
We had to stop production for months.
420
00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:53,840
We just had to stop,
421
00:22:53,920 --> 00:22:56,320
and we didn't know
if we'd have a show or not.
422
00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:58,680
And every production that was shooting
423
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:00,800
all over the world
has had exactly this problem.
424
00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:04,080
It's a credit to Lux vide and Sony
and everyone who managed to make it work.
425
00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:05,160
It's a huge ordeal.
426
00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:07,120
You have one-way systems around everywhere
427
00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:09,640
and different departments
not meeting each other.
428
00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:12,560
It's a huge...
The geography of the whole thing,
429
00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:18,160
to orchestrate it, in itself is...
On top of shooting a TV show.
430
00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:19,440
It's just crazy.
431
00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:22,480
How extraordinary it is that
Lux Vide has managed to get this show
432
00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,000
back up on its feet during COVID.
433
00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:26,840
And they've worked exceptionally hard
434
00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:32,280
to make sure we're all tested.
Weekly, we're tested.
435
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:38,960
And that we have
a safe working environment for COVID.
436
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:45,640
We put in a huge effort,
almost a superhuman effort
437
00:23:47,080 --> 00:23:52,600
to resume shooting,
which we did on June 8th.
438
00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:56,160
I must say
that everybody worked very hard
439
00:23:56,240 --> 00:24:00,760
from their homes, the places where
they were spending their lockdown days,
440
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,080
to make this possible.
441
00:24:03,240 --> 00:24:05,880
So that's been amazing
to see how this crew
442
00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:11,080
has managed to put together
such a huge production again
443
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:14,960
in such a short period of time,
and keep it safe for everybody.
444
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:16,120
That's really inspiring.
445
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:21,280
I, first of all, feel very lucky
to be able to be back working.
446
00:24:21,520 --> 00:24:25,600
Everyone here in Italy
that was obviously so hard hit
447
00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:28,280
by the coronavirus has been wonderful at
448
00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:32,520
putting in all the necessary precautions
and making sure that people feel
449
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:36,800
as safe as they need to
in order to go back to work.
450
00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:42,000
We have acres, hectares here of land
where we've recreated streets
451
00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,040
and buildings and interiors and piazzas
452
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:48,720
so that we can keep filming
453
00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:51,680
and create as many locations as we can.
454
00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:56,480
We considered many viable options,
455
00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,880
so much so that in Europe,
we were the first
456
00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:03,600
to resume working
on such a complex production work,
457
00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:05,400
I mean, something at this level.
458
00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:09,480
How to have actors
next to each other on the film set,
459
00:25:09,560 --> 00:25:12,960
because, you know,
we couldn't have them wear face masks.
460
00:25:13,040 --> 00:25:18,640
How to disinfect and clean
461
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:22,200
an enormous amount
of costumes and props.
462
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:24,680
We bought
some COVID-19 fogging machines
463
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:29,880
to disinfect the clothes
worn by those who entered the film sets,
464
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:31,640
and then also temperature check devices,
465
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:35,640
sanitizing not only their clothes
but also their bodies.
466
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:39,320
I feel like the protocols are terrific.
467
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:42,720
We're tested all the time,
everyone on the crew is tested.
468
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:44,960
Everybody is wearing masks.
469
00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:47,160
It's as safe as it could be.
470
00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:50,840
It's a bit weird working
under these protocols,
471
00:25:50,920 --> 00:25:52,720
I won't lie to you.
472
00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,520
Because it's very difficult
to understand my job
473
00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,440
without being close to both cast and crew.
474
00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,360
But I have the feeling that we're working
475
00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:05,240
in a very safe environment,
and the production
476
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:09,840
has taken a lot of measures to protect us.
477
00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:16,680
So I have the feeling that I'm calm
and I can do my job well.
478
00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:20,200
This job is about relationship,
479
00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:23,000
it's about being together
and playing together.
480
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:27,080
We all feel very blessed to be back on set
and do what we love the most,
481
00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:31,360
because we understand
that it is not something
482
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:34,120
to take for granted in life.
483
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,960
One of the most important things to me
in creating this show
484
00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:45,920
was to make it as authentic as possible.
485
00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:49,320
And look at the story
486
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:52,560
through Leonardo's eyes
as much as possible.
487
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:54,600
What were the resources available to him?
488
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,440
What were the materials available to him?
489
00:26:57,520 --> 00:26:59,960
How did he actually paint his art?
490
00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:02,280
What were his skills?
491
00:27:02,360 --> 00:27:03,440
How did he learn them?
492
00:27:03,520 --> 00:27:06,800
Straight away,
getting a tour of the art department
493
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,560
and just seeing the work
that they had done
494
00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:13,000
and that they had to do
was quite breathtaking, actually.
495
00:27:13,240 --> 00:27:16,920
A film set like this
involves over 200 people working in it.
496
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:20,840
Two, sometimes three units
shooting at the same time on the same day.
497
00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:25,400
We developed
and partly built dozens of locations.
498
00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:29,160
Sixty, seventy different film sets.
499
00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:35,320
We covered an area of at least
600-700 square meters.
500
00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:40,200
We have a very large film set,
all outside Florence,
501
00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,320
that we're going to reconstruct in a plot,
a back lot actually,
502
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:45,920
near the Filmhouse Studios.
503
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:49,400
The challenge was really huge.
504
00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:50,880
Building...
505
00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:58,040
something that probably
hadn't been done for over 20 years
506
00:27:58,120 --> 00:28:00,840
here in Rome and in Italy.
507
00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:03,640
A film set of yesteryear
508
00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:09,080
in terms of volumes,
extension, and complexity of...
509
00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:12,080
of production.
510
00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,240
In the Art Department,
here in this office,
511
00:28:14,320 --> 00:28:17,240
we're basically five, six people.
512
00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:21,160
Then there's the Decorators Department,
accounting for another six, seven people.
513
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:24,320
Then there's the Carpentry Department,
514
00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:29,800
a department of plasterers,
then companies building the scenes.
515
00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,960
Totally, it could be
more than 150 people.
516
00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:37,400
Of course only in such a project
517
00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,400
where almost everything
has been completely rebuilt.
518
00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,880
This structure includes two cities
519
00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:46,720
Florence and Milan.
520
00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:49,960
Streets, alleys, buildings, palaces,
521
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:52,160
and churches.
522
00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:58,560
Building all this
was such a complex undertaking...
523
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:03,560
This is the Florence model,
524
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:04,640
which is a scale model.
525
00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:06,960
It is useful for the direction
526
00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:12,040
in terms of all stage movements
527
00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:16,640
and camera movements,
and for the actors, group scenes.
528
00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:19,240
I mean, it's very useful for everybody.
529
00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:21,640
What you see here in green
530
00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:26,560
will be made in CGI,
i.e. in post-production...
531
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:29,520
The technical drawings,
and also the sketches,
532
00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:33,080
are always provided by us,
that is, the Scenic Design Department.
533
00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:39,480
So that they still have
a design that matches the real one.
534
00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:58,200
A very important part
of our work is the sketching phase,
535
00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:01,640
sketches are generally
drawn at the beginning.
536
00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:07,840
And it has to do
with showing the film look,
537
00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:09,520
the "film dress", I'd say.
538
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:14,400
So the color palette,
the choice of the style of the furniture.
539
00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:20,720
We have the global picture
of what the film is going to be, actually.
540
00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:21,880
I had no idea...
541
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:24,520
how to-- You have
a clue when reading the scripts,
542
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:28,400
but you forget how many stages.
And somebody has to do this actual work,
543
00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:30,720
has to paint from the beginning.
Lots of them.
544
00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,360
And they're not just all HD scans
or photographs.
545
00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:35,440
A lot of them have to be painted,
546
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:37,920
and sketched from the very start.
547
00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:41,600
I am a scene painter,
or rather a scenic artist,
548
00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,120
and I mainly work on paintings
549
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:47,120
and everything that is decoration
and painting in cinematography.
550
00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:50,680
Especially in films set
in the old days, in classical eras.
551
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:52,840
Because I studied ancient painting
552
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:56,720
and so, knowing the techniques,
knowing the styles,
553
00:30:56,800 --> 00:31:00,120
I then apply what I studied
to cinematography.
554
00:31:00,200 --> 00:31:02,120
It can be drawing,
it can be engraving,
555
00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:07,560
it can be an oil painting,
or even a fresco.
556
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,960
Always, of course,
made with a technique
557
00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,520
which is somehow
reminiscent of the original technique,
558
00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:15,440
because we're talking
about the scenic design.
559
00:31:15,520 --> 00:31:19,640
I apply the methods
I've been testing over the years
560
00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:23,000
to create the same visual impact
561
00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:26,560
a real fresco can have,
or a real oil painting has.
562
00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:35,080
So, in the creation of the apprenticeship
563
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:37,720
that he went through
at Verrocchio's studio,
564
00:31:38,120 --> 00:31:40,360
all of the young artists
565
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:43,200
who he selected to be working with them
went through a kind of boot camp
566
00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:45,880
of Renaissance painting techniques
and sculpting techniques
567
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:47,760
and charcoal drawing techniques.
568
00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:48,840
So that they all knew,
569
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:51,640
literally, how to hold a charcoal.
570
00:31:51,760 --> 00:31:54,400
What they were trying to see,
what they were trying to achieve,
571
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:55,960
what they were trying to make.
572
00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:57,960
And had to go through that process
573
00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:02,000
so that the way they thought,
the way they behaved was authentic.
574
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:08,440
Then I also worked on the physiognomy,
575
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:12,080
so both the modern facial standards,
576
00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:16,640
and the classical standards
of a Renaissance painter.
577
00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:18,520
Because profiles have a...
578
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:21,680
Let's say,
classical physiognomy has its own style,
579
00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:25,480
which is a little bit related
to the Greek world, the ancient world,
580
00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,800
and so to everything
that can be the golden ratio face.
581
00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:31,280
So, thanks to these research studies,
582
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:34,120
I try and work
on actors' faces as well,
583
00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:36,320
and it's rather challenging.
584
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:37,400
Then, our director
585
00:32:37,480 --> 00:32:41,120
has a very thorough knowledge
of Leonardo as an artist
586
00:32:41,200 --> 00:32:45,720
and we're trying to make everything
as accurate as possible.
587
00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:48,600
You need to kind of
take yourself back to that time
588
00:32:49,360 --> 00:32:53,080
and realize what the light was like.
589
00:32:53,800 --> 00:32:57,320
The sun would have looked exactly the same
as what it looks like now.
590
00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:02,280
The main differences would have been
the fabrics, the costume.
591
00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:05,680
You know the fabric of the building.
592
00:33:06,400 --> 00:33:09,320
Our cinematographer, Steve Lawes,
is someone I've worked with
593
00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:11,680
on four or five different shows now.
594
00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:14,960
And he is the perfect director
595
00:33:15,040 --> 00:33:19,320
of photography for a show like this
because he paints with light.
596
00:33:19,840 --> 00:33:23,640
I don't know how else to put it.
And Steve Lawes sees the world
597
00:33:24,240 --> 00:33:26,640
in the way I want to direct it.
598
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:31,360
One of the things that I was very
keen to do on Leonardo was to...
599
00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:35,080
restrict myself in a way...
600
00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:40,680
to the way the light would have been
in the 15th, 16th century.
601
00:33:41,800 --> 00:33:43,360
By that, I mean
602
00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,320
daylight, moonlight, candlelight.
603
00:33:47,080 --> 00:33:49,880
On a show like Leonardo,
604
00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:52,040
or in that period, there is only
605
00:33:52,160 --> 00:33:53,640
these types of light.
606
00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:57,480
And very much like Verrocchio
607
00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:01,680
talks about the quality of the light
608
00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:05,000
and the shade of the light
and the color of the light.
609
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:07,400
It's a very similar process
610
00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:11,160
for coming up with a plan for Leonardo.
611
00:34:11,400 --> 00:34:16,880
In a beautiful scene,
Verrocchio explains the types of light.
612
00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:19,360
He says: "There are
three kinds of light in the world."
613
00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:22,200
The first, is direct light...
614
00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:25,960
from a window or a candle flame.
615
00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:28,600
The second...
616
00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:36,440
is diffused light.
617
00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:42,480
What's the third kind of light?
618
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:47,200
Verrocchio replies: "I have always
tried to find the third light,
619
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:50,560
"but I couldn't find it
because it is God's light."
620
00:34:54,120 --> 00:34:56,760
One of the other things
that Dan and I talked about
621
00:34:56,840 --> 00:34:58,640
was the movement of the camera.
622
00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:04,280
We kind of feel that
if you put yourself back
623
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,320
in the 1500s, there weren't--
624
00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:08,600
You didn't have a drone.
625
00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,200
You didn't have
a tall building to look down from.
626
00:35:13,200 --> 00:35:17,520
So, we decided that we wanted to keep
the perspective at ground level
627
00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:20,480
and shoot in that sense.
628
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:23,760
And in the clothing and in the design,
629
00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:26,600
and in the colors and the textures
and the materials,
630
00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:30,480
we want it to be as realistic
as we can possibly make it.
631
00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:35,400
I'd give credit to the design department
because they did an amazing job,
632
00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:38,800
and the costume department
and the hair and makeup,
633
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:40,400
all those other departments.
634
00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:44,320
I can like what I get to work with.
635
00:35:44,840 --> 00:35:46,720
And it is difficult,
636
00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:51,520
because every time I try
to adapt the style, a visual part...
637
00:35:51,800 --> 00:35:52,800
Let me put it this way:
638
00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:56,480
a visual perspective
that clearly differentiates,
639
00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:57,800
despite being the same era,
640
00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:00,160
this series
from the ones I did in the past.
641
00:36:00,240 --> 00:36:02,160
Also because it is another story.
642
00:36:02,240 --> 00:36:03,520
Then because, actually,
643
00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:07,280
the historical period
when Leonardo lived,
644
00:36:07,360 --> 00:36:10,520
that is, the beginning of the
16th century, the end of the 15th century,
645
00:36:10,600 --> 00:36:12,360
is a very particular period.
646
00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:15,320
It is a transitional period.
647
00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:17,280
Like a void, a suspended void,
648
00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:20,240
compared to the previous years.
649
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:23,960
And Leonardo enters
this very "dark" area
650
00:36:24,040 --> 00:36:28,200
presenting himself
as one of the artists, the scholars,
651
00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:30,680
the best eclectic talents ever.
652
00:36:30,760 --> 00:36:35,160
And it's amazing how Leonardo's
movements, geographical movements
653
00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:37,680
from one city to another,
from one client to another,
654
00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:39,600
from the Medici court,
to Ludovico il Moro's,
655
00:36:39,680 --> 00:36:43,240
and then he went to France,
somehow they changed his nature.
656
00:36:43,760 --> 00:36:47,960
I mean, at the beginning
he is one kind of man, then he changes.
657
00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:51,480
And this allows us
to show these changes,
658
00:36:51,560 --> 00:36:54,680
to make the Florentine period
look in a certain way,
659
00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:57,200
and then, say, Milan in another way.
660
00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:02,160
These two cities already differentiate
with every passing year,
661
00:37:02,240 --> 00:37:03,800
also in terms of style,
662
00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:07,320
who Leonardo is
and his way of being.
663
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:13,120
Because costumes
tell us 50% of characters, even more.
664
00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:15,240
The most challenging thing for actors
665
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:17,960
is to wear a tie and a jacket
when they are acting.
666
00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:20,240
Hitchcock said that.
It's the hardest thing.
667
00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:22,200
But when they give you a costume...
it's beautiful.
668
00:37:22,280 --> 00:37:25,480
A costume already carries you
into another movement.
669
00:37:25,560 --> 00:37:28,200
It carries you into an era,
which costume defines, doesn't it?
670
00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:39,920
Here we have all the paintings
Leonardo is supposed to do.
671
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,880
I have to arrange some actresses' hair
like in the paintings.
672
00:37:44,600 --> 00:37:47,800
This era, i.e. the 15th century,
I'm just going to...
673
00:37:48,600 --> 00:37:50,760
Working comes naturally to me...
674
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:54,160
these historical periods, you see?
675
00:37:54,240 --> 00:37:56,440
It's as if I was born in that era.
676
00:37:56,520 --> 00:38:00,240
I don't know, maybe I have
some ancestors, I don't know.
677
00:38:01,120 --> 00:38:03,520
It is easy for me, that's it.
I have to be honest.
678
00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:07,680
Because a historical reconstruction
gives you the opportunity
679
00:38:07,760 --> 00:38:10,800
to put your own working technique,
680
00:38:10,880 --> 00:38:14,640
as well as your own genius and culture,
into practice.
681
00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:17,560
That's what makes a difference.
682
00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:21,400
Because I think the audience always knows
683
00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:26,440
when they've been given
a version of reality,
684
00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:29,800
rather than being invited into a reality.
685
00:38:29,880 --> 00:38:30,880
It's very different.
686
00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:32,880
You think, "This is pretty--"
687
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:35,000
You're not going to get much closer to it.
688
00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:39,280
We're in roughly the same costume,
and this is, per scale,
689
00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:42,040
what it looked like.
The room is as well.
690
00:38:42,160 --> 00:38:44,200
It's incredible to have it,
not just on film,
691
00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:45,960
but to be in it
and to look around
692
00:38:46,040 --> 00:38:48,760
beyond the platform painting.
693
00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:50,000
Having that moment.
694
00:38:50,360 --> 00:38:52,680
I think costume drama
often suffers from that.
695
00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:54,000
It can be quite tableau.
696
00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:56,560
Quite presented, rather than inhabited.
697
00:38:57,120 --> 00:38:59,600
And I want this world to feel inhabited.
698
00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:03,160
So, every set feels lived in,
every costume feels worn.
699
00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:05,000
There's dirt under the fingernails.
700
00:39:05,080 --> 00:39:08,120
The hair is a little bit greasy,
there's sweat under the armpits.
701
00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:09,400
It's a real world.
702
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,960
Leonardo belongs to the world,
703
00:39:17,080 --> 00:39:22,840
so we looked for professionals
of great depth...
704
00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:26,720
...international depth,
705
00:39:26,800 --> 00:39:33,120
but also of great intellectual capacity
and sensitivity.
706
00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:39,400
Whoever worked on this film set
had to have a strong...
707
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:40,480
how can I say this...
708
00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:44,120
a strong artistic bent,
and an outstanding professionalism
709
00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:50,080
to make such an international
dream come true.
710
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:54,800
The audience should watch Leonardo,
711
00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:56,200
because I am in the series.
712
00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:58,160
Okay, perfect.
713
00:40:00,240 --> 00:40:04,440
Because it's a series
about the greatest artist of all time,
714
00:40:04,880 --> 00:40:06,560
Leonardo Da Vinci.
715
00:40:08,240 --> 00:40:11,040
People should watch Leonardo
because it's fascinating.
716
00:40:11,160 --> 00:40:13,200
It's an insight
into one of the most
717
00:40:13,280 --> 00:40:16,360
extraordinary human brains
in the history of the world.
718
00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:19,880
We get to see him as a person.
And when we do that,
719
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:22,400
we're even more amazed at this man,
720
00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,320
this genius,
who managed to accomplish what he did.
721
00:40:25,400 --> 00:40:28,600
It makes him more real
and then even more incredible.
722
00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:31,880
It's not a costume drama.
It's not a classic costume drama.
723
00:40:31,960 --> 00:40:34,640
It's about love and relationship
724
00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:37,960
and pushing yourself to the limit
725
00:40:38,040 --> 00:40:39,920
and learning how to love again.
726
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,440
It's a very modern series
727
00:40:43,520 --> 00:40:47,480
and it's a universal story,
so everyone should watch it.
728
00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:51,120
I hope loads of people tune in
to watch this show.
729
00:40:51,200 --> 00:40:53,480
I feel like it's very relevant.
730
00:40:53,600 --> 00:40:57,320
We get to understand Leonardo Da Vinci
on a level that I don't think any of us
731
00:40:57,400 --> 00:40:59,320
will previously have had beyond just
732
00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:02,120
the major pieces of artwork
that we know him for.
733
00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:04,840
But who is that enigmatic man behind them?
734
00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:07,880
How it was all done
and the detail that we show it.
735
00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:12,080
We went to great lengths to make sure
that everything is historically accurate.
736
00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:15,600
I think we've done a great job doing that.
So for that alone,
737
00:41:15,680 --> 00:41:16,960
it's worth seeing it.
738
00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:20,440
It's beautifully presented,
and you will...
739
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:22,760
If you have any interest at all in
740
00:41:22,840 --> 00:41:27,160
art or creation,
this series will speak to you.
60506
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